13 10 (part 2)

A gilded cage is still a cage…

With that thought in mind, Sonya gave a heavy sigh and exited the bathroom. Back in the bedroom, she looked around, unsure of what she should do with herself. On cue, her stomach grumbled.

When was the last time she ate anything? A few hours or a couple of days? She had no idea. All she knew was that she could eat a whole cow and then some. Her gaze went to the double doors of the bedroom. She eyed them evilly, not too sure of what awaited beyond them. Inching towards the doors, Sonya twisted the doorknob, to find it unlocked. Her heart fluttered in her chest. As much as she wanted to rush out of the room, she didn’t. Instead, she pressed her body flush against the door and then her ear to the cool wood, listening for any type of noise or movement. After several minutes passed and all she heard was quiet, she cracked the door enough so that she could peek down the halls. Seeing nothing but a hall filled with dimly lit torches, Sonya opened the doors and stepped into the corridor. She shivered as a cold draft blew down the hallway. Rubbing her arms, Sonya looked in both directions, not sure of which way she should go.

“You look a little lost.”

Jumping at the sudden sound of another voice, Sonya turned to find the same man that had started her on her little journey standing a few feet away from her. Panicking, she quickly rushed back into the bedroom and tried to shut the door, only to have a booted foot wedge itself between the door and the panel. No matter how hard she tried to get his foot out the door or push it closed, neither his foot nor the door would budge.

“Now, now.” He pushed the door open despite her efforts to keep him out. “Is that any way to treat the person who saved you from certain death?” He gave her what she assumed was his best non-threatening smile in an effort to keep her calm. Too bad he ended up looking quite the opposite of what he intended.

Stumbling back at his intrusion, Sonya fell back into a nearby chair.

“Are you okay?” he asked her with an extended hand.

She eyed him wearily.

“Don’t worry, I won’t bite you.” He motioned for her to take his hand. “Unless you want me to.”

If she hadn’t been on the edge of panic, she would have rolled her eyes at his corny line. Instead, she continued to eye him up and down, observing and analyzing his posture and the aura around him.

“I promise I won’t hurt you.” He wiggled his fingers at her. “Beast would kill me if anything happened to you.”

Beast? Was he talking about that creature from before?

“I know you’re hungry.” This time he leveled her with a knowing stare. Her cheeks flushed a deep red as the growl of her stomach echoed loudly around them.

“Seems I’m right. Come on, I’ll take you to the kitchen.”

This time, with the promise of food, Sonya took his outstretched hand. With what seemed like little effort, he pulled her to her feet.

“Follow me.” Dropping her hand, he turned and walked out the doors he’d come in. When she didn’t follow him right away, he said, “The food is not going to be there forever. The quicker you come, the quicker you can get some food into that small body of yours.”

Small body? Where exactly did he see a small body? While she wasn’t the size of an Amazon-like her sisters, she was still over five foot five with a few extra pounds in areas she wasn’t proud of. She wouldn’t call herself fat, but she definitely wasn’t small. Not when her pants size pushed close to the double digits.

Reluctantly, with her hunger leading her, Sonya walked out of the bedroom and hurried to catch up to him as he headed down the hall. Following silently behind him, she took the time to take him in. He wasn’t the exact height as her dream man, but the man before her was pretty close. And he walked with the same predatory gait as the man from her dreams. She could tell from the wide width of his shoulders that the man before her tried to hide his well-defined body under the white tee he wore, at least from the back anyway. Although he wasn’t as broad as her dream man, she could appreciate an athletic build like any red-blooded woman.

Granted, the man before her was a sight to look at, but he didn’t make her heart skip a beat the way her dream man did. With him, every time he came near, her ovaries went into hyperdrive. However, with this new stranger, just like when he showed up at her doorstep, she might have thought he was handsome, but that was where it stopped.

“My brother will be down to meet you soon.” He told her as they came to stand in front of an archway that led into the kitchen. She had been so engrossed in her own thoughts she hadn’t paid attention to where they were going. She had simply followed him until they stopped.

“Your brother?” she asked. From over his shoulder, he gave her a harsh stare. Instantly, his body tensed. She had no idea what she had said to set him off, but she swore she wouldn’t open her mouth any more than she had to.

“Yes.” He motioned for her to follow him. Quietly, she obeyed. “This is the dining hall.”

When he stepped aside and she was able to gaze upon the dining hall, she thought her eyes would pop out of her head from all the food that was laid out on the table.

“Eat to your heart’s content.” He motioned for her to enter the room.

Wide-eyed, she walked past him and into the dining hall, her mouthwatering as she walked up to the food. Everything from turkey to sweet potato pie was spread out before her.

“There’s no way I can eat all of that,” she mumbled to herself, vaguely aware that her escort was standing behind her.

“Don’t worry. This is not solely for you.” He walked around her and pulled out one of the large dining room chairs. “Sit and eat. You’re going to have a long evening ahead of you.”

Not sure what to make of what he said, Sonya took the seat he offered.

“I’ll bring your food.”

Baffled by his kindness, she watched him walk around the table and pile food on a plate for her. By the time he finished, he had brought her a plate overflowing with food. She didn’t know how exactly she was supposed to eat all the food, but she appreciated his generosity. Not to mention the food smelled as delicious as it looked.

“I will leave you to your food.”

“Wait, at least tell me your name,” she asked as he walked away from her.

“I’m Camren, and don’t worry, Beauty, we will see each other again.” With that Camren turned, bowed, and then headed out the dining room.

He seems nice, Sonya thought to herself. While Camren was nice, the food in front of her was much more enticing. Picking up a fork, she dug into her food. The first piece of turkey she ate melted in her mouth. She gave a low moan as her taste buds went into overload.

“Oh, my God.” With each bite, flavor exploded into her mouth. Never had she tasted food so good; it was even better than her mother’s cooking. She was in heaven. It wasn’t until she felt the castle floor shake beneath her did she pause her eating. The joy and elation that had filled her moments before vanished as a dark foreboding went down her spine.

Turning her attention back towards the archway, she damn near fell out of her chair.

“Beauty.” The beast growled her name. In that instant, she swore all the air had been sucked out of the room. Suddenly she couldn’t breathe. When she tried, each ragged breath burned her lungs. Memories of her nightmare came flooding back. Sonya scrambled out of her chair, losing her balance and falling to the floor as the creature neared her.

Only when he towered over her did her heart stop beating for a few seconds. Sure that she was going to be killed or eaten, Sonya could do nothing but stare at the creature before her.

Exactly how she got herself into these messes she would never know, but she was quickly learning the hard way that she would reap what she sowed.